Generational Differences in Information Technology Use and Political Involvement

A structural equation model analysis of data from a 2003 national random sample survey (n = 478) on informational technology (IT) reveals important direct and indirect effects of generational demographic and attitudinal differences on electronic forms of political participation. Younger respondents reported more support for IT and fewer technological disadvantages compared to older respondents. Younger respondents showed more desire for public IT availability and e-political participation, whereas older respondents preferred traditional electoral involvement. The more educated held more favorable views of IT generally and of public IT access more specifically. Bettereducated respondents were more active civically in both traditional and electronic forms of participation. Supportive technological views led to greater e-political participation and stronger interest in e-elections. Respondents with less concern and fear about IT were more likely to act as digital citizens and were more involved in epolitics and e-elections. Proponents of public IT access were more supportive of eelections. Our model suggests that e-citizenry will compound existing social divisions, as non-electronic voices are marginalized and electronic voices are amplified

Possible Functional Moving Toes Syndrome

Background: Moving toes syndrome has been classically described as an organic movement disorder, on occasion related to peripheral nerve injuries. The association between nerve trauma and movement disorders has become a controversial topic, and the functional etiology of moving toes syndrome has recently been proposed. Case Report: We describe two cases of moving toes syndrome with clinical features typically suggestive of a functional movement disorder. Discussion: The presence of entrainability and distractibility in the described patients is an indication of attentional influences on their involuntary movements. However, it is possible that if there is a subcortical origin, the toe movements could be influenced by voluntary commands

Antiparkinson Drug Adherence and Its Association with Health Care Utilization and Economic Outcomes in a Medicare Part D Population

AbstractObjectivesWe examine the associations of adherence to antiparkinson drugs (APDs) with health care utilization and economic outcomes among patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD).MethodsBy using 2006–2007 Medicare administrative data, we examined 7583 beneficiaries with PD who filled two or more APD prescriptions during 19 months (June 1, 2006, to December 31, 2007) in the Part D program. Two adherence measures— duration of therapy (DOT) and medication possession ratio (MPR)—were assessed. Negative binomial and gamma generalized linear models were used to estimate the rate ratios (RRs) of all-cause health care utilization and expenditures, respectively, conditional upon adherence, adjusting for survival risk, sample selection, and health-seeking behavior.ResultsApproximately one-fourth of patients with PD had low adherence (MPR < 0.80, 28.7%) or had a short DOT (≤400 days, 23.9%). Increasing adherence to APD therapy was associated with decreased health care utilization and expenditures. For example, compared with patients with low adherence, those with high adherence (MPR = 0.90–1.00) had significantly lower rates of hospitalization (RR = 0.86), emergency room visits (RR = 0.91), skilled nursing facility episodes (RR = 0.67), home health agency episodes (RR = 0.83), physician visits (RR = 0.93), as well as lower total health care expenditures (−$2242), measured over 19 months. Similarly, lower total expenditure (−$6308) was observed in patients with a long DOT versus those with a short DOT.ConclusionsIn this nationally representative sample, higher adherence to APDs and longer duration of use of APDs were associated with lower all-cause health care utilization and total health care expenditures. Our findings suggest the need for improving medication-taking behaviors among patients with PD to reduce the use of and expenditures for medical resources

Sex Differences in Clinical Features of Early, Treated Parkinson\u27s Disease

INTRODUCTION: To improve our understanding of sex differences in the clinical characteristics of Parkinson\u27s Disease, we sought to examine differences in the clinical features and disease severity of men and women with early treated Parkinson\u27s Disease (PD) enrolled in a large-scale clinical trial. METHODS: Analysis was performed of baseline data from the National Institutes of Health Exploratory Trials in Parkinson\u27s Disease (NET-PD) Long-term Study-1, a randomized, multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 10 grams of oral creatine/day in individuals with early, treated PD. We compared mean age at symptom onset, age at PD diagnosis, and age at randomization between men and women using t-test statistics. Sex differences in clinical features were evaluated, including: symptoms at diagnosis (motor) and symptoms at randomization (motor, non-motor, and daily functioning). RESULTS: 1,741 participants were enrolled (62.5% male). No differences were detected in mean age at PD onset, age at PD diagnosis, age at randomization, motor symptoms, or daily functioning between men and women. Differences in non-motor symptoms were observed, with women demonstrating better performance compared to men on SCOPA-COG (Z = 5.064, p\u3c0.0001) and Symbol Digit Modality measures (Z = 5.221, p\u3c0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, men and women did not demonstrate differences in clinical motor features early in the course of PD. However, the differences observed in non-motor cognitive symptoms suggests further assessment of the influence of sex on non-motor symptoms in later stages of PD is warranted

Measuring student attitude and knowledge in technology-rich biology classrooms

The use of technology in schools is now ubiquitous, but the effectiveness on the learning environment has mixed results. This paper describes the development and validation of an instrument to measure students’ attitudes toward and knowledge of technology with the aim of investigating any differences based on gender after a course where the science department made use of technology as an integral part of teaching biology. In this study, conducted in one school in the state of New York, in the United States of America, the Students’ Attitudes Toward and Knowledge of Technology Questionnaire was administered to nearly 700 high school science students. A principal component and principal factor analysis resulted in new scales from the validation of the instrument that demonstrated high reliabilities. There were statistically significant gender differences in all the scales of the questionnaire in favor of males

The Impact of IPTi and IPTc Interventions on Malaria Clinical Burden – In Silico Perspectives

Background: Clinical management of malaria is a major health issue in sub-Saharan Africa. New strategies based on intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) can tackle disease burden by simultaneously reducing frequency of infections and life-threatening illness in infants (IPTi) and children (IPTc), while allowing for immunity to build up. However, concerns as to whether immunity develops efficiently in treated individuals, and whether there is a rebound effect after treatment is halted, have made it imperative to define the effects that IPTi and IPTc exert on the clinical malaria scenario. Methods and Findings: Here, we simulate several schemes of intervention under different transmission settings, while varying immunity build up assumptions. Our model predicts that infection risk and effectiveness of acquisition of clinical immunity under prophylactic effect are associated to intervention impact during treatment and follow-up periods. These effects vary across regions of different endemicity and are highly correlated with the interplay between the timing of interventions in age and the age dependent risk of acquiring an infection. However, even when significant rebound effects are predicted to occur, the overall intervention impact is positive. Conclusions: IPTi is predicted to have minimal impact on the acquisition of clinical immunity, since it does not interfere with the occurrence of mild infections, thus failing to reduce the underlying force of infection. On the contrary, IPTc has

Default Network Deactivations Are Correlated with Psychopathic Personality Traits

Background: The posteromedial cortex (PMC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are part of a network of brain regions that has been found to exhibit decreased activity during goal-oriented tasks. This network is thought to support a baseline of brain activity, and is commonly referred to as the ‘‘default network’’. Although recent reports suggest that the PMC and mPFC are associated with affective, social, and self-referential processes, the relationship between these default network components and personality traits, especially those pertaining to social context, is poorly understood. Methodology/Principal Findings: In the current investigation, we assessed the relationship between PMC and mPFC deactivations and psychopathic personality traits using fMRI and a self-report measure. We found that PMC deactivations predicted traits related to egocentricity and mPFC deactivations predicted traits related to decision-making. Conclusions/Significance: These results suggest that the PMC and mPFC are associated with processes involving selfrelevancy and affective decision-making, consistent with previous reports. More generally, these findings suggest a link between default network activity and personality traits

Intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy in Africa: What's new, what's needed?

Falciparum malaria is an important cause of maternal, perinatal and neonatal morbidity in high transmission settings in Sub-Saharan Africa. Intermittent preventive treatment with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP-IPT) has proven efficacious in reducing the burden of pregnancy-associated malaria but increasing levels of parasite resistance mean that the benefits of national SP-IPT programmes may soon be seriously undermined in much of the region. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop alternative drug regimens for IPT in pregnancy. This paper reviews published safety and efficacy data on various antimalarials and proposes several candidate combination regimens for assessment in phase II/III clinical trials